


John Barleycorn Was Dead

by Lothiriel84



Series: Another Cup Of Coffee [2]
Category: MarsCorp (Podcast)
Genre: Drinking & Talking, Dubcon Kissing, Gen, Past Underage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 03:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10913847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lothiriel84/pseuds/Lothiriel84
Summary: And she pours herself another cup of coffeeAs she contemplates the stain across the wall





	John Barleycorn Was Dead

He rounded the corner past what Dave insisted on calling Commerce Headquarters, slammed into another someone that appeared to be fleeing the room in tears. It took him a few moments to indentify the individual that was currently clinging onto his tattered lab coat – which he insisted on wearing more out of habit than anything else – as no one else than Hayley Barrett, Dave’s intern and his only, albeit unwanted, admirer.

David froze in place, allowed her the time to collect herself before gently pushing her back to her feet. “Um,” he started, unsure how he should go about it. “Are you all right – I mean, is there something I can do for you?”

Hayley looked up at him, her extravagant makeup smudged in places. “David. Hi. I was just, um, going to quarters, actually. Have a nice day.”

She swayed uncertainly, had to grab his arm for support. Her breath smelled significantly of alcohol, and he sighed as he realised she was possibly too drunk to get there on her own.

“Okay then,” he nodded, trying for a sympathetic smile. “I’ll see you off, shall I?”

It took quite a lot more effort than David would have expected to coax the young woman into following his lead, but after what felt like ages they managed to get to the quarters she still shared with her parents, even though she’d long put in a request to be assigned to new ones. She successfully entered the key code to the door on her second attempt, let herself fall onto the narrow bunk bed he assumed would serve as a sofa of sorts.

“I hate everything,” David heard her mutter between herself, as he searched for a clean glass and a bottle of water. He was vaguely reminded of how painful hangovers had always felt to him, back to when he was a student who would only attend to parties out of peer pressure and a desire to please everyone else. He considered the jar of instant coffee for a moment, then decided sleeping it off would probably be a preferable option, all things considered.

“Do you need me to stay with you until your parents get back home?” he forced himself to ask, no matter how uncomfortable he felt about the whole thing.

Hayley shook her head, slung her arm across her face to block out the artificial light that came from the ceiling. “I’ll be fine,” she murmured, drowsily, as he placed the glass and bottled water within her reach. “Thanks, David.”

“Anytime,” he replied, automatically, though he was well aware his tone lacked any conviction whatsoever. It was only as the door to her pod slid shut behind him that he took in a deep breath, allowed himself to relax just a fraction. He still needed to talk to Dave about their project, though he was starting to suspect it wasn’t very much in the cards for today, if the incident with Hayley was anything to go by.

He stood in front of Dave’s unofficial quarters for a full minute before he heard a faint thud, followed by someone cursing under their breath, and the lock to the door finally clicking open. Dave didn’t look particularly pleased of seeing him, though his stance appeared to suggest there was at least one other person he would have least wanted to see at that moment in time.

Eventually Dave stepped aside to let him in, and he was immediately faced with far too many empty bottles for comfort, most of them precariously perched onto the small table, and the rest scattered carelessly over the floor. He was reminded of the look on Hayley’s face as she disentangled from his arms, wondered just how bad things had got in there to make her run away like that.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Dave warned him, somewhere between bitter and downright exhausted. “Hayley and I were just winding down a bit after a hell of a long day, there’s nothing wrong with a little drink now and then.”

David suddenly felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs, long suppressed memories of the feel of insistent hands all over his body – always mixed with the burn of alcohol at the back of his throat – coming unbidden to the forefront of his mind. “Dave,” he breathed, and he found himself unable to hide the faint hint of horror in his voice. “What have you done?”

“Oh, keep your hair on, Granddad,” Dave shot back, reaching for one of the half empty bottles balanced precariously on a stack of promotional leaflets. “I’m not a pervert, if you must know. She attempted to kiss me after having one too many, I just told her she’d better go home and sleep it off.”

“Oh. I see,” David exhaled, barely resisting the urge to give in to an audible sigh of relief. He might have tried to fool himself back in the day, told himself he knew exactly what he was doing and that it was what he’d been wanting all along, but the hard cold truth was that he’d only been sixteen, and all too willing to mistake lust and a shared passion for science for the promise of eternal love.

For all that he seldom indulged in alcohol or any of the stimulants that MarsCorp provided for the benefit of its employees, as of right now he felt like he was in need of a drink. “You don’t happen to have anything that doesn’t contain too much alcohol, do you?”

“I think there must be a bottle of cider, somewhere,” Dave gestured vaguely around the room. “Help yourself.”

He was eventually able to locate the cider, went through a couple of doubtfully clean glasses before he decided it was probably safer if he drank straight from the bottle.

“Cheers,” Dave said with forced levity. David offered him a tentative smile as they clinked their bottles together in a makeshift toast.


End file.
